NEWPORT BEACH : Measure A Campaign Costs Near $100,000

Campaign expenditures on Measure A should top $100,000, according to records filed by groups on both sides of the issue.

At issue is the proposed $68-million purchase of 138 acres of open space, known as the Castaways and Newporter North, that overlooks Upper Newport Bay.

Voters will decide the fate of the ambitious and costly plan Tuesday.

If Newport Beach voters pass the advisory vote on forming an assessment district to finance the purchase by a 60% margin, owners of single-family homes would pay $120 a year for 30 years, apartment and mobile home owners would pay $104 per unit, and businesses would $120 per 2,000 square feet of commercial space.

As of last Thursday, the Committee to Preserve the Castaways and Newporter North had spent more than $52,000 on mailers, roadside signs, advertising and voter surveys, according to campaign disclosure forms filed at the city clerk’s office.

With the help of almost $10,000 in late donations, the group’s expenses are expected to top $60,000 by Election Day, which is Tuesday.

The committee is a political action group created by--and mostly financed by--the nonprofit Newport Conservancy.

The Newport Taxpayers Alliance opposes the purchase and supports Irvine Co.’s city-approved plans to build 363 townhomes on the properties, with 59% of the acreage set aside for open space.

The alliance’s political action committee had spent more than $33,000, according to campaign records. The group’s expenses are expected to top $40,000 before Tuesday, group treasurer Harry Merrill said.